Additionally, around 10,000 childcare centers across the US have signed on to First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign, which advises childcare providers to strive for one to two hours of physical activity per day, a maximum of 30 minutes per week of screen time for children aged two and over, and a ban on sugary drinks.

“I am thrilled at the progress we've made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans,” the First Lady said in the CDC press release. “With the participation of kids, parents, and communities in Let’s Move! these last four years, healthier habits are beginning to become the new norm.”

“The idea here is simple—our classrooms should be healthy places where kids aren’t bombarded with ads for junk food,” Michelle Obama said in an announcement with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak at the White House on Tuesday. “Because when parents are working hard to teach their kids healthy habits at home, their work shouldn’t be undone by unhealthy messages at school."

There has also been a significant increase - from 31.5 percent to just over 38 percent - in the obesity rate among women over 60.

"Overall, there have been no significant changes in obesity prevalence in youth or adults between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012," the conclusion of the study reads, depressingly. "Obesity prevalence remains high and thus it is important to continue surveillance."

It's great news that little ones in the US are getting healthier but, for the rest of us, there's still a lot of work to do.